[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2808 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2808

 To amend title 5, United States Code, to make the date of the signing 
of the United States Constitution a legal public holiday, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 15, 2004

   Mr. Byrd introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 5, United States Code, to make the date of the signing 
of the United States Constitution a legal public holiday, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Celebrate the United States 
Constitution Day Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The people of the United States enjoy numerous public 
        holidays to commemorate and honor their common past.
            (2) The people of the United States enjoy such holidays to 
        recognize and remember the men and women in uniform, to pay 
        tribute to the American worker, and to honor the discoverers, 
        founders, and leaders of the United States.
            (3) The text of the United States Constitution symbolizes 
        one of the Founding Fathers' greatest accomplishments, 
        memorializes the heralded past of the United States, and 
        portends the boundless future of our Nation.
            (4) The United States Constitution is not a dead piece of 
        parchment, but a revered and living document, capable of 
        inspiring a nation to achieve seemingly impossible dreams and 
        irrepressible hopes.
            (5) The United States is best served when its citizens 
        participate fully in their government.
            (6) There should be established a ``Constitution Day'' to 
        commemorate the creation and signing of the United States 
        Constitution and to foster appreciation of its text.
            (7) There should be appropriated Federal funds to support 
        the activities of ``Constitution Day''.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    It is the purpose of this Act to--
            (1) commemorate the creation and signing of the United 
        States Constitution on September 17, 1787;
            (2) call for public readings of the United States 
        Constitution in cities large and small, by people of all ages, 
        throughout the United States in schools and churches, and all 
        other suitable places;
            (3) encourage friends and families to join together to 
        review and discuss the text of the United States Constitution, 
        the world's oldest codified constitution, to better understand 
        its meaning to our Nation;
            (4) celebrate the collective wisdom of provisions of the 
        United States Constitution with appropriate ceremonies, 
        including patriotic displays, presentations, parades, poetry, 
        and in song;
            (5) foster greater reverence for, and understanding of, the 
        time-honored terms of the text of the United States 
        Constitution;
            (6) enhance awareness not only of overarching themes of the 
        United States Constitution, but also its particular provisions, 
        which create a social contract among citizens and set forth 
        that the Government receives its powers from the people;
            (7) expose all people of the United States and citizens of 
        other nations to the genius of the concepts and teachings 
        contained in the United States Constitution;
            (8) engender full respect for, and appreciation of, the 
        United States Constitution;
            (9) preserve and protect the extraordinary place of the 
        Constitution in the history of the United States; and
            (10) establish a legal public holiday to celebrate the 
        United States Constitution.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF HOLIDAY.

    Section 6103(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to Labor Day the following:
            ``Constitution Day, September 17.''.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendment made by this Act shall take effect on the first 
January 1 that occurs after the date of enactment of this Act.
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